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Piccadilly (1929)

tomatometer

83

Average Rating: 8.3/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

74

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 470

My Rating

Movie Info

Just before making his talkie directorial debut with Atlantic, director E.A. DuPont dashed off the silent "backstage" drama Piccadilly. By the time the film was released in 1929, talking pictures had taken a firm hold of the British film industry, obliging DuPont to reshoot much of the picture with dialogue. American screen favorites Anna May Wong and Gilda Gray (the girl who popularized the "shimmy dance") head the cast, the former as Shosho, a dishwasher in the London nightclub where the

Unrated, 1 hr. 48 min.

Drama, Classics

Mar 1, 2005

Cast

All Critics (18) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (2) | DVD (8)

Dupont has an original way of employing camera movement to suggest erotic chemistry between characters, and Wong, who even provoked a rave notice from Walter Benjamin, is as memorable and confident as Louise Brooks was in the films of G.W. Pabst.

February 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Like most English pictures, the drama is crudely shaped and conventionally directed. Anna May Wong does the best acting.

February 2, 2011 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Music is the usual medley of pop dance stuff, with the cabaret set about the best thing in the production. Camerawork on close-ups is excellent.

March 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
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[Wong's] role of Shosho, the red-hot dancing star of London's Piccadilly nightclub, shows her at her dramatic and erotic peak.

March 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | Comment
Chicago Tribune
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Wong is the kind of gorgeous that burns right through a camera lens, and the kind of mesmerizing that seems without effort or end.

March 19, 2004 Full Review Source: Boston Globe | Comment
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A visually eloquent and sometimes dazzling backstage melodrama.

September 30, 2003 Full Review Source: Village Voice | Comment
Village Voice
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Dupont's stunning evocation of London's roaring twenties would be of cinematic interest even without Wong; but her sultry presence makes this backstage melodrama a must-see.

February 2, 2011 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The melodramatic machinations of the plot may be weak, but Dupont's assured direction, Alfred Jünge's art direction, and Werner Brandes' lighting create an atmosphere so hauntingly evocative as to be satisfying in itself.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

If any British silent production comes close to being a classic, it would've been Piccadilly, an uncommonly lavish and sophisticated 1929 offering.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Film Threat

One of the overlooked great classic silent films.

April 28, 2005 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Wong was a fabulous performer, and Piccadilly is one of the few films that truly captured her talent.

March 7, 2005 Full Review | Comment
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

What's up with the tatas on the DVD's front cover?

February 24, 2005 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

It's difficult to imagine a Hollywood production allowing an Asian star to be as commanding as Wong is in Piccadilly.

February 24, 2005 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

A drama of sexual and racial politics set against the buzz of jazz-age London culture, Piccadilly is an incredibly modern silent film featuring a career-best performance from Anna May Wong.

July 3, 2004 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

A swinging London club; the breakup of a famous performing couple; a well-known dancer being replaced by one younger and more exotic; a murder. All juicy fodder for plot, and it's a good thing.

April 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Miami Herald | Comment
Miami Herald

A sophisticated exploration of racial and sexual taboos.

March 24, 2004 Full Review Source: Boston Herald | Comment
Boston Herald

[Wong] is not top billed, but her entrance in Piccadilly -- and her general presence -- make her the star.

March 8, 2004 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

Wong has acquired a loyal cult following over the years, and Dupont's exquisitely filmed episodes show why.

January 22, 2004 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | Comment
Christian Science Monitor

A wonderfully entertaining last hurrah from England's silent cinema.

October 1, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Film Threat
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Piccadilly

Piccadilly is just amazing. Right from the start I was instantly impressed with the costumes and settings, obviously being a silent film set in the period it was made, it felt like I was watching a piece of history, like being put in a time machine for a few hours. The look and feel of the film are worth a ten on their

February 10, 2011
matertenebraum

Super Reviewer

A typical romance drama mystery involving dancers who are fighting over a man, nothing new. It's not horrible, but it's not good either.

December 27, 2010
ajv2688

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Piccadilly (1929) (DE)
  • Piccadilly (1929) (UK)
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